Cars







The All-New 2019 Audi Q3: You’d Never Know It Was Entry-Level

You’d be forgiven for not knowing that the all-new 2019 Audi Q3 is actually Audi’s entry-level compact crossover SUV; after all, the Q3 is aggressively styled, attractive, and loaded with tech features first seen in the flagship Audi Q8. The Audi Q3 is a good lesson on how “entry-level” doesn’t have to be synonymous with “bare bones” or worse — “missing out.”


2019 BMW X4: Call It Whatever, I Call It Good

This week we reviewed another coupe from BMW. Another sports activity coupe that is, and in BMWspeak that means, well, it’s not a coupe. The EPA calls it a small SUV, and I pin it somewhere in the crossover utility/activity vehicle genre. Either way, this is the 2019 X4 from BMW.


2019 Jeep Cherokee Is a Whole New Animal

Dear Jeep, I recently tested your new 2019 Cherokee model, and I have two words – Thank You! The redesign has addressed many of the styling issues folks have not been shy about rendering opinions on, and that new engine with the turbocharger on it? Fuhgeddaboudit!




Accessorize Your New Ride, Right at the Factory

In recent weeks, the test driveway has hosted a couple of models that we have already reviewed in the past year. Much of what we have found in the Jeep Cherokee and Volkswagen Atlas is pretty much a repeat of our favorable impressions we reported. So let’s talk about accessorized versions of these two, right from the factory.


2019 Volkswagen Jetta is the ‘Betta Jetta’ Yet

Volkswagen is one of the leading automakers in the world, and right now is a great time for product here in the U.S. We have seen a great new 3-row SUV (Atlas) and a total makeover of the Tiguan crossover. Now we see the next-generation Jetta compact sedan, and what a winner this is.


Bmmpr Protects Your Car Where Others Don’t

You finally got that new car you’ve always wanted and you even sprang for the connected car services. So when you come out and find the window shattered or a large dent in the fender, why didn’t your car tell you (or anyone for that matter) that something had happened? That’s where Bmmpr steps in.


2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback Ushers in New Era

Toyota did something a bit unusual to debut the 12th generation of one of its most popular models. The 2019 Toyota Corolla arrived first as a hatchback. And while this is not the first subcompact hatchback from Toyota, it is the first to carry the name Corolla Hatchback here in North America – and it’s a good one.


2018 BMW X2 Is the New Sports Activity Something

BMW and I are going to have to agree to disagree on the all-new X2. The Bavarian automaker is billing the new model as a sports activity coupe, but I fail to see much coupe-ish about it. What is offered is a great combination of a hatchback and crossover utility vehicle, just not a coupe.



2018 Toyota RAV4 Ready for ‘Adventure’

Toyota is getting ready to roll out the next-generation RAV4 compact utility vehicle later this fall, a vehicle we introduced to you earlier this year. So it came as a surprise when the 2018 RAV4 Adventure model rolled into our test driveway just barely ahead of the 2019 arrival.


2019 Toyota Avalon Leading a New Revolution for Cars

Toyota has just launched the new flagship of its North American fleet in the form of the fifth-generation Avalon mid-premium sedan. Designers and engineers have addressed nearly every aspect for the 2019 model year, but is it enough, especially given these troubled times for sedans?


AutoworldDavid Turns 20!

A couple of notable anniversaries have come and gone quietly this past season, the first marking 10 years that I have been here at Gear Diary. The second commemorates the 20 years I have been involved in automotive journalism, and what a “ride” it has been.


2018 Toyota C-HR Is Distinctively Different

Toyota parked its national headquarters in our backyard a couple of years ago, and in recent weeks they have parked some new vehicles in our test driveway out front. We have written about a few Lexus products already, and now it is Toyota’s turn beginning with the new, distinctively different C-HR.